Goran Ivanisevic reached three Wimbledon finals and lost, before winning Wimbledon in 2001 as a wildcard

Tennis: Goran’s still got it, Wimbledon 2001

The Croatian left-hander was in and around the top end of the mens’ singles game, but always being the nearly man – finishing runner up at Wimbledon in 1992, 1994 and 1998.

But for much of 1999, 2000, and 2001, he struggled with a shoulder complaints and poor performance which all led to his world ranking starting to slide steadily.

At the 2001 Championships, he was ranked 125 in the world and entered as a wildcard, careering through the rounds, beating Tim Henman in the semis and Pat Rafter in the final to finally win a Grand Slam – and to this day is still the only wildcard to do so.

Finn Lasse Viren fell over half way though the 10,000 metres but came back to win gold and set a World Record

Olympics: Lasse Viren defies a fall, Munich 1972

A policeman from a small village in Finland, Viren was the beacon of a successful group of long-distance runners known as the “Flying Finns” – but his feat is greater than any.

Taking part in the 10,000m race in the Munich Olympic Stadium, he tripped over after colliding with Belgian opponent Emiel Puttemans just before the halfway mark.

But against all the odds, Viren regained ground on his competitors and saw him come back to win not only an incredible gold, but set a new world record in the process – before winning the 5000 metres later that same games.